Posted: 09/2001
E Channel
NEWS BRIEFS
* CarrierChoice (www.carrierchoice.com), an online telecommunications forum where business customers can request quotes from service providers, has announced a partnership with Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. (SingTel, www.singtel.com) and New York-based Ethernet IP provider IntelliSpace Inc. (www.intellispace.net).
These companies join CarrierChoice partners AT&T Corp. (www.att.com), Global Crossing Ltd. (www.globalcrossing.com) and Qwest Communications International Inc. (www.qwest.com).
Tapping CarrierChoice's web-based technology, business customers are able to request quotes, and ultimately compare services, from more than 30 providers. Business customers can obtain bids on voice, data, Internet and web hosting services. After requesting quotes online, the service providers submit a bid within a few days. Executives representing CarrierChoice also contact the businesses to evaluate bids and make recommendations.
* TeleBright Corp. (www.telebright.com) announced that it has been named to the 7th Annual Dun & Bradstreet and Entrepreneur Magazine "Hot 100," a list of the 100 fastest growing businesses in the United States published in Entrepreneur's June 2001 issue.
TeleBright is one of many portals, where consumers and businesses can compare and purchase telecom services. Like other telecom portals, however, the company has shifted its focus towards selling its technology to service providers, who can use the software as a tool to acquire and retain customers.
"We attribute a large part of our success to the growth area of our business--our customer acquisition and retention tools for service providers," says Chet Thaker, president and CEO of TeleBright. "Our tools are highly specialized and designed for reducing customer churn, and we anticipate that this will continue to be a growth area for us."
* InQuent Technologies Inc. (www.inquent.com), a wholesale provider of hosting services to service providers and carriers, has forged a strategic alliance with Miva Corp. (www.miva.com), a global supplier of e- commerce and software services. InQuent will incorporate Miva Merchant 4.0, a next-generation Internet storefront solution to enable its service provider customers to build storefronts for their customers.
The private-label solution includes affiliate program management, inventory tracking, advanced administrative features and store statistics among other features. The new features compliment those found in previous software versions, including account and catalog management, merchandising, order fulfillment and reporting tools.
The Miva Merchant 4.0 solution incorporates a set of wizards that simplify the process of building an online store, enabling merchants to set up a storefront within minutes, InQuent reports.
E Channel Links
AT&T Corp. www.att.com
Buy.com Inc. www.buy.com
CarrierSales.com www.carriersales.com
Cellmania Inc. www.cellmania.com
Gartner Group Inc. www.gartner.com
Microsoft Corp. www.microsoft.com
Net2000 Communications Inc. www.net2000.com
Palm Inc. www.palm.com
PK Communications Inc. www.pkcomm.com
Point.com www.point.com
PricewaterHouseCoopers LLP www.pricewaterhousecoopers.com
Qwest Communications International Inc. www.qwest.com
Sprint PCS www.sprintpcs.com
Telco Exchange Inc. www.telcoexchange.com
Telephia Inc. www.telephia.com
The Yankee Group www.yankeegroup.com
